The Dunwich Horror

This is well written and entertaining like all of H.P. Lovecraft's work, expressed in that distant style of the unknowable and incomprehensible cosmic horror.

Strange inexplicable monsters spring out of the earth from nowhere because they simply do. In a social media world that constantly requires explicit details and justifications, it's refreshing to read old-fashioned horror that holds back on the gruesome details, instead relying on visceral emotions and imagination that doesn't thrust it down your neck. It's also a bit dated and safe as though it was written a hundred years ago in a less tolerant society...

...but for all its age and creaking bones, it's still a great read that heightens the Lovecraft love.

Similar to War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells in which aliens get launched from Mars in pod-like shuttles - that's all you need to know. People die and disappear, sometimes transform into something worse, which is often good enough. There is no excessive world building or drawn-out character studies to deal with because all the psychological hard work is done for you. People might complain that these books are antiquated and dated, but they're also good at getting on with it.